A Feminine Touch

A couple years ago, I met a self-proclaimed “gamer girl” at a church activity. I vividly remember that she was rather aggressive about proclaiming that even though she was a girl, she could hold her own and enjoy herself playing games like Halo or Call of Duty just as much as any guy. I also remember being somewhat disappointed with the encounter, though I attributed it to mismatched gaming interests at the time. Now, however, I wonder how much of her bravado was an act, a facade put on to try and gain acceptance in a culture dominated by aggressive males. And I wonder if I was put off by her because I wasn't looking for the “aggressive male” personality from a woman who identified with geek culture – instead, I was looking for someone who could provide a fresh, feminine perspective to the community. Why did I tell this story? Studies have suggested that one way of attracting more women to Computer Science would be to change our culture into something women can more easily identify with. Changing a culture is a difficult and sometimes scary thing. But if my experience is typical, we may find that our culture has a lot to gain from acceptance by more than one gender.